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Monument details

HER Number:TR 05 NE 39
Type of record:Monument
Name:Chain Home Radar Station, Dunkirk

Summary

A WWII Chain Home Radar staion first built in 1936. Originally consisting of eight transmitter towers and a compound, only one tower and the compound now survive. It was later used as part of Operation Rotor, the early warning system created in the 1950s. The station closed in 1958. A number of features survive in and around the compound area. The site is a Scheduled Monument.


Grid Reference:TR 07687 59337
Map Sheet:TR05NE
Parish:DUNKIRK, SWALE, KENT

Monument Types

Protected Status:Scheduled Monument 1155615: A WORLD WAR II CHAIN HOME RADAR STATION AT DUNKIRK, 200M NORTH EAST OF CHRIST CHURCH

Full description

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Successful experiments during the early 1930’s led to the implementation of a chain of Radio Direction Finding Stations. Dunkirk was one of the first five operational stations which made up the so-called Estuary Chain Home layout, established in 1936-38. Initially established as a single tower transmitter only site in 1936, Dunkirk was upgraded to a transmitter/receiver station the following year, with the subsequent addition of eight further towers. The station played a vital role in Britain’s domestic air defence throughout the war, particularly during the Battle of Britain and the V-weapon attacks of 1944-45.

After the war Dunkirk became one of 32 stations in the first phase of the programme to restore Britain’s air defence control and reporting system during the early Cold War period, known as Operation Rotor. However, by the 1950’s Britains radar had entered a new era, to counter the threat of guided weapons, and by 1958 the station had closed and it’s equipment sold. All but one of the radar towers were demolished the following year. The surviving tower was retained by the MOD and remains in use for communication purposes. The transmitter tower is Listed Building Grade II, and not included as part of the SAM.

The stations roughly north-south rectangular compound occupies an area of some 500m by 600m. It was enclosed by a 3m high spiked steel railings, part of which survive on the southern and eastern edge. Sections of an outer, flanking ditch are also visible. The internal layout of the station, which is largely unaffected by later development, followed the standard compact design common to all east coast stations. It technical equipment was concentrated in two large rectangular buildings, known as the Receiver and Transmitter Blocks. For blast protection these brick and concrete structures were externally embanked with a 1.7m thick layer of shingle enclosed with the roof. The shingle has been removed form the Transmitter Block, although both buildings retain their other forms of blast protection as well as their internal layout.

The Transmitter Block, located in the south eastern area of the compound TR0777859156 housed the transmitter equipment from antenna erected on four 350ft (107m) high towers arranged in a line in front of the building. The echo reflected by an aircraft within the “illuminated” area was picked up by the antenna of the adjacent receiver system installed on four wooden towers around the central Receiver Block at TR0755259484 from where the height, speed and number of aircraft was established.

Other components of the technical site included a large square structure between the Transmitter and Receiver Blocks which housed the standby generator set (TR0768959221). The station was also provided with reserve transmitter and receiver equipment in underground buildings called the Buried Reserves, in the northern sector of the site. Access is blocked now, but emergency exits, ventilation ducts and sliding entrances are visible.

The importance of these radar stations made vulnerable to attack. Dunkirk was identified as one such site an allocated the designation of VP (Vulnerable Point) 126. The site was initially defended by three 40mm Bofors and eight Lewis machine guns. By the end of January 1942 this had been increased to include a tower-mounted Bofors gun (now a Listed Grade II building) and quad Vickers machine gun and a further ten Lewis guns. These features survive as the tower mounted AA platform in Clay Pits Wood (TR0728859380). Other surviving emplacements include two octagonal gun pits one (TR0776959507) near the Buried Reserve and the other on the eastern edge of the compound, now located within a residential garden (TR0784659149). Other structures located within the main compound include a concrete lined fire pit (TR0761459464) east of the Receiver Block, The married quarters of the site wardens, private residences now and not scheduled area.

Outside the compound, in the surrounding area, surviving structures included a Stanton air raid shelter with nearby junction box TR0795059697, a brick built ammunition store on the edge of Bossendedn Wood TR 0817359490, another surface air raid shelter or weapons store at the eastern side of Courtenay Road TR0824659966 and finally 950m to the NE of the compound a possible shelter for either a mobile AA gun or for fire fighting vehicles at TR0845960383.(1)

Description from record TR 05 NE 40:
A WWII Chain Home Radar staion (TR 05 NE 39) first built in 1936. Originally consisting of eight transmitter towers and a compound, only one now survives. The station closed in 1958. A number of features survive in and around the compound area. The site is a Scheduled Monument (1)


From the National Heritage List for England:
Details
The monument, which falls into six separate areas of protection, includes a World War II Chain Home Radar station, situated on high, level ground approximately 6km west of Canterbury. The main compound of the radar station is bound on its eastern side by Courtney Road and by the Canterbury to London road to the south. Successful experiments during the early 1930s into the use of radio waves as a method of detecting and locating aircraft, led to the implementation of a chain of Radio Direction Finding (RDF) stations, later known as RADAR, along the eastern, and ultimately the western coast of Britain. Dunkirk was one of the first five operational stations which made up the so-called Estuary Chain Home layout, established in 1936-38 to provide long range early warning of high flying enemy aircraft for the Thames Estuary and the south eastern approaches to London. Initially established as a single tower transmitter-only site in 1936, Dunkirk was upgraded to a transmitter/receiver station the following year, with the subsequent addition of eight further towers. The station played a vital role in Britain's domestic air defence throughout the war, particularly during episodes such as the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the V-weapon attacks of 1944-45. After the war, Dunkirk became one of 32 stations in the first phase of the programme to restore Britain's air defence control and reporting system during the early Cold War period, known as `Operation Rotor'. However, during the 1950s British radar entered a new era, to meet the threat of guided weapons, and by 1958 the station had closed and its equipment was sold. All but one of the radar towers were demolished the following year. The surviving transmitter tower was retained by the Ministry of Defence, and remains in use for communication purposes. It is a rare surviving example of a Chain Home tower. The transmitter tower is a Listed Building Grade II, and is not included in the scheduling. The station's north-south aligned, roughly rectangular compound, occupies an area some 500m by 600m on the north western side of Dunkirk village. It was enclosed by 3m high spiked steel railings, parts of which survive on the southern and eastern edge of the site. Sections of an outer, flanking ditch are also visible to the north and east. The internal layout of the station, which is largely unaffected by later development, followed the standard compact design common to all East Coast stations. Its technical equipment was concentrated in two large rectangular buildings, known as the Receiver and Transmitter Blocks. For blast protection these brick and concrete structures were externally embanked, with entrances traversed and a 1.7m thick layer of shingle enclosed within the roof. The shingle has been removed from the Transmitter Block, although both buildings retain their other forms of blast protection, as well as much of their internal layout. The Transmitter Block, located in the south eastern area of the compound, about 200m north west of the village crossroads, housed the transmitter equipment, which delivered pulses of high frequency energy from antenna erected on four 350ft (107m) high self-supporting towers arranged in a line in front of the building. These were known as Group III transmitter towers, built by JL Eve Construction Company to a slightly different specification to Chain Home towers elsewhere. The echo reflected by an aircraft within the `illuminated' area was picked up by the antenna of the adjacent receiver system installed on four 240ft (73m) high wooden towers, arranged around the central Receiver Block, located about 600m north west of the crossroads. From the information received by the equipment within the Receiver Block, it was possible for the crew to identify the position of the aircraft, the number of aircraft within a formation and also to distinguish between allied and enemy planes, through the use of aircraft mounted apparatus known as `Identification Friend or Foe' or IFF. Information was passed to the Fighter Group Headquarters where the enemy aircraft locations were plotted and the pursuit planes dispatched to intercept them. Other components of the technical site included a large square structure, also banked and traversed for blast protection, located between the transmitter and receiver systems, and this housed the standby generator set. The station was also provided with reserve transmitter and receiver equipment housed in two underground buildings, called the Buried Reserves, located in the northern sector of the compound. Access into the chambers is now prevented by flooding, and other obstacles, although the sliding entrance hatches, emergency exits and ventilation ducts can be seen at ground level, together with the concrete bases for the two 105ft (32m) wooden towers, which were to be left un-erected and camouflaged until needed. The importance of radar stations, in providing long range early warning, was fully recognised during World War II and a high priority was given to their defence. By 1939 Dunkirk radar station, which fell within Fighter Command's strategically important 11 Group (that part of Fighter Command covering the south east of England), was identified by the war office as one of five sites in England most vulnerable to attack and was allocated the designation `Vulnerable Point (VP) 126'. In common with other VPs, Dunkirk subsequently became a strongly fortified position. From as early as September 1939 the site's anti-aircraft provision included three 40mm Bofors and eight Lewis guns. Fears of German paratroop raids led to the construction of additional perimeter defences, including four infantry pillboxes, which survive on the southern and eastern sides of the compound, and Lewis guns for ground defence. By July 1940 the number of Lewis guns had been temporarily increased to 18. The defences were further strengthened by the addition of a tower-mounted Bofors gun and a quad-mounted Vickers machine gun, both of which were in place by the end of January 1942. The Bofors tower formed part of the western perimeter defences of the station and survives in Clay Pits Wood. This is a rare surviving example of a light anti-aircraft gun tower, and is a Listed Building Grade II. Other surviving emplacements include two octagonal gunpits, one situated close to the Buried Reserve and the other adjacent to a pillbox on the eastern perimeter of the site, now located within the garden of a modern house. Two rectangular, internally partitioned and externally mounted brick built positions also survive on the northern edge of the compound, one of which retains the steel mounting pivot for the gun. Other structures located within the main compound include the brick remains of the sewage collection tanks to the north east of the Receiver Block; a concrete lined fire fighting pond east of the receiver system and the concrete foundations of camp buildings along the access track from Courtenay Road. The married quarters for the site wardens also survive at the former entrance on Courtenay Road. These are occupied as private residences and are therefore not included in the area of protection. Some outlying structures, associated with the operation of the station, also survive outside the perimeter fence. These include a semi-sunken air raid shelter, known as a Stanton shelter, located approximately 90m north of the compound, together with a small brick structure, which is thought to be a junction box associated with the station's communication system or electrical supply. Approximately 220m east of the north eastern corner of the compound, on the western edge of Bossenden Wood, is a brick built ammunition store, measuring approximately 10 sq m, protected beneath an earthen mound. This appears to have served the station's northern and eastern defences. A rectangular surface building of concrete block construction, with a baffle entrance and a heavy steel door, is located on the eastern side of Courtenay Road about 500m north east of the compound and has been interpreted as either a weapon store or surface air raid shelter. A further structure survives on the eastern side of Courtenay Road, in the garden of Firtree Cottages, approximately 950m north east of the radar station. It consists of two parallel, north-south aligned, substantial brick walls, with gently sloping terminals to the north and steeply battered to the south. Its walls are embanked to the east, and its concrete roof is recessed and filled with earth. The structure, which was originally open at each end and now enclosed for use as a stable and garden store, is thought to have been either an emergency shelter for fire fighting vehicles or a camouflaged shelter for a mobile anti-aircraft gun. Further, as yet unidentified buildings associated with the use of the former radar station may survive beyond the area of protection. In addition to the modern stable constructed between the concrete bases of the first RDF tower, the following items are excluded from the scheduling: all later surfaces and structures, fences, gates, and goal posts; materials used to seal the doors and/or windows of some of the surviving buildings, and all modern materials and equipment stored within and around the buildings. However, the ground beneath these features and/or the structures to which they are attached, are included in the scheduling.

Reasons for Designation
The introduction of the aircraft as an offensive weapon is significant in the history of 20th century warfare, while the bomber's ability 'always to get through' provided the rationale for strategic air defence systems adopted by Britain from the early 1920s. These systems initially involved early warning, based on the visual spotting and tracking of aircraft, but developed through acoustic detection devices to radar. The principles behind radar were widely recognised by the 1930s, but British technicians were the first to mould the basic science - that an electromagnetic pulse reflected from an object betrays that object's position to a receiver - into a practical means of air defence. Following experimental work at Orfordness and Bawdsey in Suffolk, radar developed through the initial Home Chain, to Chain Home Low (CHL) stations, which filled gaps in low-looking cover left by the original technology. Both were designed for raid reporting, passing information to a central operations room which in turn directed fighters to intercept enemy aircraft. This system was vital in the Battle of Britain. Radar was then adapted during the Blitz of 1940-1 to incorporate a system of Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) by which night fighters were controlled directly rather than via a central operations room. A further addition in 1941 was Coast Defence/Chain Home Low (CD/CHL), a low-cover coastal radar designed to detect surface shipping. Originally manned by the Army, these coastal sites were ultimately handed over to the RAF, thereby unifying the low cover chain. At this time many stations were converted to new and more powerful equipment, known as Chain Home Extra Low (CHEL). Finally, in 1943 Fighter Direction radar was developed to aid Fighter Command in their offensive sweeps over occupied Europe. Many radar stations were reused during the Cold War period for Rotor, a later development of wartime radar. A national survey of radar stations has identified some 242 sites at 200 separate locations - some quite extensive - used for by radar reporting and control functions during World War II. Forty-seven of these are Chain Home sites, about half of which survive in some form, seventeen of which are complete or near complete. These were large sites with some substantial components, the design and specifications of which evolved according to technological developments. There were also regional variations, such as in building design between east and west coast sites. Characteristic features include transmitter and receiver towers and blocks, buried reserves providing an independent system in case of attack, defence structures, a guard hut and associated domestic camps. Chain Home sites with significant surviving remains representing the site's primary function are considered to be of national importance. Chain Home towers are rare nationally and all surviving examples are of national importance.

The World War II Chain Home Radar station at Dunkirk, 200m north east of Christ Church is particularly important in terms of the development and early implementation of radar, representing its first use beyond the experimental phase. The station survives well and is one of only seven Chain Home sites nationally which is virtually complete, with its ground structures and layout still visible and its interior untouched by modern development. It therefore provides an understanding of the original form and function of Chain Home stations and as such, it is an important historic complex, serving as a physical record of similar stations which have been demolished elsewhere. Historically, the importance of the site is further enhanced by the significant part it played in the defence of Britain against aerial bombardment throughout World War II, and its continued significance during the early Cold War period. Surviving Chain Home transmitter towers are extremely rare nationally and Dunkirk is one of only five sites to retain any of their original towers. The survival of the tower greatly amplifies the significance of the site. Furthermore, it is a prominent feature in the landscape which has become a familiar local landmark and a fitting tribute to those who served in the defence of Britain during the principal conflict of the 20th century. The transmitter tower is protected as a Listed Building Grade II.


<1> English Heritage, 2003, A WWII Chain Home Radar Station at Dunkirk, 200m North East of Christ Church, SM34310 (Scheduling record). SKE11871.

Sources and further reading

Cross-ref. Source description
<1>Scheduling record: English Heritage. 2003. A WWII Chain Home Radar Station at Dunkirk, 200m North East of Christ Church. SM34310.

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